Bangladesh ex-PM Khaleda Zia’s son sentenced to life

Tarique Rahman, the fugitive son of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, was sentenced to life and 19 others were given death sentence by a court on Wednesday over the 2004 grenade attack that killed 24 people and injured 500 others, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004, targeted Ms Hasina, who was the opposition leader at that time. Ms Hasina survived the attack with a partial hearing loss.

The verdict comes ahead of the election in December. Rahman, 50, was tried in absentia with the court declaring him a ‘fugitive.’ He now lives in London where he is believed to have sought asylum though the British authorities have declined to reveal his immigration status.